Hospitals are also more willing to place male staff in these high-pressure environments because they require less communication with the patients or patients' families, thereby reducing the chances to a male nurse suffering abuse or discrimination. "Most people didn't mean to humiliate us but their words still hurt our feelings. Hospitals don't want their male nurses quitting because of this," added Li.

After the May 12 earthquake in Sichuan province in 2008 (the second anniversary falls on the same day as International Nurses Day), nearby hospitals sent their male nurses to the disaster zone to help rescue victims as it was believed they would work better in the harsh and dangerous environment, said Yu Mingcheng, a former male nurse with the Mianyang Central Hospital.

"Every five minutes after the earthquake, a truck full of at least 20 casualties drove up to our hospital. Several male colleagues and I had to carry the victims to the operating rooms," he said.

Although still few in numbers, male nurses are welcomed by the majority of hospitals in China, said Zheng Shanhai, an ICU doctor at China Meitan General Hospital in Beijing.

Women provide wonderful support but "it's undeniable that in some important operations that could last eight hours, male nurses are more likely (to have the stamina) to persist to the end," he said.

Nationwide, hospitals are hiring more men onto their nursing staff, (Zheng said his unit recently accepted a handful of male interns), yet experts say many quit just a few years into their career.

"It is becoming easier for them to find a job but it is just as hard to keep, due to the pressure from prejudice," said Zheng. "I have never seen a male nurse work for more than 10 years in the industry, while it is easy to find a doctor with decades of experience everywhere."

Ex-nurse Yu agreed and, although he only left the profession because he was promoted to an administrative position, said: "Most men change jobs because of social discrimination and poor salaries."

In his spare time, Yu now runs the China Nursing Forum, one of the largest online social networking groups for the country's nurses. Of the website's 100,000 registered users though, just 400 are men.

"About 40 percent of the male nurses that use the forum have talked about their desire to change to another job," said the part-time webmaster. "Once I asked eight male nurses - all students on a nursing training course that I run - about their career choice and only one said he didn't regret picking this profession."

When Yu was promoted in 2008 - a result of his outstanding performance during three years in the job - many of the male colleagues were jealous, he said. "They told me they loathed the endless cleaning and drug dispensing. The discrimination and poor salary is also torture for them and puts them under both mental and financial pressure."

As a rookie in 2005, Yu earned just 500 yuan ($70) a month. "Five years have passed and a nurse's monthly wage is no more than 1,500 yuan," he added.

Changing attitudes

To reduce running costs, many Chinese hospitals hire temporary staff, making the situation even more volatile, according to a 2005 report on nursing by the Ministry of Health.

Traditionally, men are still the main breadwinners in China - yet nursing fails to offer either the salary or the status. "One of my male colleagues told me he can earn more money working as a waiter in a small restaurant," said Yu. "Some male nurses can't find girlfriends because of their low incomes."

Similar to Li's experience in Beijing, when Yu began training as a nurse in Sichuan in 2002 he was the only man among 600 trainees. At the time, he believed a man's "physical advantage" would make it easier for male nurses to not only find a job but also excel in it.

Due to the increasingly serious employment situation in China, Yu and Li said they both chose the profession for the same reason. Yet a male nurse who did not want to be identified told China Daily he had no idea what was involved in nursing work before he studied it. Now, working in a mental hospital in Zhejiang province, he said he is tired of people's reaction to him and regrets his choice.